


With Gratitude

by tinylilremus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dudley Dursley Has a Magical Child, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Redeemed Dudley Dursley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-09-28 04:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20419754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinylilremus/pseuds/tinylilremus
Summary: Neville sees a muggle man standing in the middle of Flourish and Blotts and instantly knows that he needs to help him. What he doesn't know before introducing himself is that this is Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin and that he has a magical daughter who seems to have already become best friends with his daughter.He also doesn't know that by the end of the day, he will have developed a rather inconvenient crush on him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **No one:**
> 
> **Literally not a single soul:**
> 
> **Like seriously, no human beings on earth:**
> 
> **Me:** Anyway, here's a multichapter fic about Neville falling in love with Dudley

Neville spots him for the first time at the other end of Flourish and Blotts. He stands out like a sore thumb, partly because of what he recognises from being friends with Dean is a muggle football jacket, partly because he’s wearing an expression of mingled awe and fear. Neville realises that he must be the parent of a muggleborn and also knows without much prompting that he needs to help him.

“Excuse me,” he says, stepping closer to the man. “Sorry if this is a bit forward, but I’m taking it from the football jacket and look of panic that this is all a bit new to you. Can I help with anything?”

The man looks for a moment like he would like to tell Neville to fuck off, but his expression softens a moment later.

“Yeah,” he says. “This is just… a lot, you know?”

“I can imagine. I grew up with it, but it’s even a bit overwhelming for me at times. Neville Longbottom.” He extends a hand for the man to shake, and the man takes it. His grip is strong and his hands are as calloused as Neville’s. He tries not to think too hard about why he notices that and tries not to think about how it is that his hands get that calloused.

“Dudley Dursley,” the man replies.

“Oh shit, you’re Harry’s cousin, aren’t you? He and I are really good mates.”

“Wonderful – I see my fame precedes me,” he says, somewhat dejectedly. “I suppose he’s told you all about me then?”

Well, there was no denying it. While trying to help Dudley through being bullied, Harry had described in great detail the abuse he had received at the hands of the Dursleys. He knows how awful Dudley was to Harry growing up. He also knows that Dudley is the only member of Harry’s blood family that had bothered to apologise or attempted to make things right. It would seem he’s grown up since.

“He said that you were kind to him in a time when he needed it most. He talks about that a lot.”

Dudley’s mouth opens, ready with a retort no doubt, but it seems that this wasn’t what he was expecting to hear and he closes his mouth again, his cheeks filling with colour.

“Yes, well, least I could do really.”

There’s a moment of silence between them and Neville takes a moment to observe Dudley. He’s nothing like what he imagined from Harry’s stories. He can’t imagine the scared, shy face in front of him contorted into any look of hate or rage and he supposes that’s the power of a good few years of contrition. After a while, he realises he’s just staring and quickly averts his gaze.

“I don’t remember Harry mentioning that you had a kid with magic,” he says, cutting through the silence.

“Harry doesn’t know,” Dudley replies. “It started pretty recently and someone from the school came to talk to me about it soon after we worked it out, so I didn’t see the need to bother him with it.”

Neville wants to say that Harry probably wouldn’t have seen that as a bother at all but bites his tongue. That would be very forward of him; he doesn’t know all the intricacies of the situation. Instead, he nods and follows Dudley’s gaze to a group of children.

“Which one is yours?” asks Neville and Dudley immediately points her out.

“Millie’s the one in the blue jumper at the back there talking to the girl with the sandy hair and glasses.”

She isn’t difficult to spot, as his daughter is the sandy-haired girl with glasses.

“Alice,” he replies.

“Oh, she’s your daughter?”

“Yeah. She’s also starting at Hogwarts this year. They’ll likely be classmates.”

Dudley is about to reply but stops when Alice, upon noticing that they are being watched, grabs Millie’s hand and starts dragging her over to them.

“Dad! Dad! You won’t believe it! My new friend Millie knows Lily and Albus and James!”

Dudley laughs at this and it’s the most relaxed he’s looked since meeting him.

“Yeah, I’m sure she does,” says Neville, also laughing now. “Ali, this is Mr Dursley. He’s Harry’s cousin.”

“Whoa really?” Alice is staring, open-mouthed, eyes magnified behind her glasses.

“Really,” Dudley replies. “You can call me Dudley though. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for looking out for Millie for me. I’m afraid this is all kind of new to us.”

“You’re welcome,” Alice beams. “We were just talking a bit about Hogwarts, weren’t we?”

“Yeah,” says Millie in a far softer, shyer voice. “Excuse me, sir, but are you really a professor there?”

Dudley’s head whips round to him at this and now it’s Neville’s turn to blush.

“Er, yeah. I’m the Herbology professor, so I’ll be seeing you in my classes.”

“Wicked,” says Millie.

“Can Millie and Dudley come shopping with us, Dad, since we’re getting all the same things anyway?”

“I was just about to suggest the same thing, actually,” says Neville, turning to Dudley. “What do you say? It’ll be a lot less intimidating with Ali explaining everything as we go.”

“Yeah,” says Dudley, smiling. “Yeah, that would be great actually. You alright with that, Millie?”

“Yeah,” she nods, smiling at Alice.

“Alright, it’s settled then. Let’s find these textbooks.”

As they begin scouring the shelves for the titles of the books they need, Dudley leans closer to him.

“Remind me to ask you later what Herbology is.”

Neville, feeling strangely warm at the sudden proximity, laughs.

“Definitely.”

* * *

Spending time with Dudley and Millie is the most natural thing in the world. Millie and Alice get on like a house on fire, laughing at Neville’s corny jokes, ooing and aaing at the same things and giggling about whatever they're whispering to each other. Dudley all the while walks next to Neville asking question after question about the magical world, Hogwarts, the classes Millie will be taking, and what the heck Quidditch is supposed to be. It’s only after the tenth question or so that he notices the subtle exchange between Millie and Dudley and realises that he’s asking questions on her behalf so that she doesn’t have to be embarrassed. The realisation makes his heart flutter strangely.

What is it about this man that’s doing this to him? Having male crushes isn’t anything new to him – he held a torch for Harry for many years after all – but it’s been years since one crept up on him this suddenly and this unexpectedly.

But then, he was hardly expecting to meet someone like Dudley when he woke up this morning, was he?

At Eeylops, Dudley impresses him by suggesting they go in to have a look around.

“Harry had an owl and I secretly always thought it was the coolest thing,” says Dudley, looking around at the birds. “That’s how you send messages to and from the school, right?”

“Yeah,” says Neville. “Yeah, an owl’s a useful animal to have around.”

“What do you think, Millet? Want a pet owl?”

Millie’s eyes light up.

“Yes please!” she squeals, causing an owl nearby to ruffle his feathers indignantly.

After talking Millie away from a tiny elf owl (_“yes, he’s very cute, Millet, but there’s no way his tiny body is going to be able to carry letters let alone packages”) _she eventually settles on a great grey owl with a particularly expressive face.

“Do you have a name for him?” asks Neville.

Millie thinks for a moment.

“Humphrey,” she says with a smile. “He looks like a Humphrey.”

“You’re so right. He does,” Neville laughs.

“Dad, can I please also get an owl?” asks Alice.

“You’re getting a kitten from the litter that Hagrid found under his bed when we get to school, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” says Alice, her face lighting up. “Never mind.”

“Aw, I love kittens,” says Millie.

“Me too,” Alice replies. “Perhaps we can share?”

“Yeah.” Millie smiles.

It warms his heart to see how quickly Alice has taken to Millie. She’s always been the odd one out, not quite old enough to fit in with the Potter and Weasley kids, not young enough to be able to properly play with Luna and Rolf’s twins. To see her bond so quickly with someone her age is a sign to Neville that she’s going to be okay at Hogwarts. She won’t be lonely.

“Can we go to Weasley’s now?” asks Alice.

“After lunch, I think. Poor Dudley and Millie have been learning a lot this morning – they look like they could use the break.”

Dudley offers him a grateful look, one that makes his heart flutter strangely again, and they make their way from the owl emporium to the Leaky Cauldron. He offers a smile to Hannah as he passes the bar and Hannah waves back and blows a kiss to Alice. Alice immediately drags Millie over to introduce her.

“Your wife?” Dudley asks as he watches Hannah planting kisses all over Alice’s face (much to her delight and horror).

“Ex,” Neville replies. “We’re still good friends – it just wasn’t working romantically.”

“Ah,” says Dudley. Despite himself, he glances down at Dudley’s left hand and notices there’s no wedding band there.

“And Millie’s mum. Is she still in the picture?”

“Er, no,” says Dudley. “She left when Millie was barely a year old. Millie took us by surprise and things were pretty toxic for a while before she left so it was a relief in some ways, but it… it hasn’t been easy.”

“I imagine so,” says Neville. “I’m sorry. That’s… I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to be doing this alone.”

“Ah, well, it’s not all bad. I feel like I’m a lot closer to her than most dads are to their kids. We’re certainly closer than I ever was to my dad.”

“Well, that’s something then.”

“Yeah.”

There’s another moment of silence between them and they fill it with intently staring at the small menu cards in front of them. At least, that’s what it looks like Dudley’s doing. Neville’s trying his hardest to make it look like that’s what he’s doing too, but in reality he's trying to look like he isn’t developing feelings for Harry Potter’s muggle cousin out of nowhere.

He’s blessedly saved by the girls arriving at the table.

“To welcome them to the magical world, Mum says Millie and Dudley should try butterbeer,” says Alice, arriving with a tray of four mugs. “You’ll love it, Millie – it’s the best drink in the whole world.”

Neville watches as Dudley takes his foamy mug with some apprehension. He leans closer to him.

“Just warning you – it’s intensely sweet. If it’s too much for you, don’t feel you have to suffer – they do serve regular ale here.”

“Thanks,” says Dudley, some of the tension leaving his face as he takes his first sip. Millie is already sporting a foamy moustache and a grin from ear to ear. He powers through a few more sips before shaking his head. “It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s honestly just way too sweet.”

Neville laughs.

“I thought it might be. Ali, won’t you be a dear and ask mum for another pint of the Leaky Ale for Dudley?”

Alice immediately hops up to help.

“Are you wanting more, Millet? I was thinking you and Alice could share the rest if Neville’s okay with that.”

“More than,” he smiles. “I take it you’re a fan of butterbeer then, Millie?”

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” she replies as Dudley carefully shares the rest of his mug between the girls.

Neville makes the mistake then of looking at Dudley’s lips and notices that there’s a tiny bit of foam in the corner. He tries to work up the nerve to tell him this, but the words seem to stick in his throat. Would Dudley think him strange for looking at his lips? This day had probably already been so weird for him, the last thing he wants to do is make it weirder. He’s saved, once again, by the girls.

“Oh, Dad, you’ve still got a bit of butterbeer in the corner of your mouth there.”

Dudley turns red and hastily wipes his mouth, glancing at Neville as he does.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” he winks, acting braver than he feels and Dudley smiles sheepishly.

Alice returns with the ale a few minutes later and it seems to be a lot more to Dudley’s taste. The four of them enjoy their drinks over steak pie and chips while Alice explains the Hogwarts houses to Millie.

“So the houses I really want to get into are Gryffindor like dad or Hufflepuff like mum. The Hufflepuff dorms are right by the kitchens, so that would be really great, but the Gryffindor common rooms apparently have these amazing views of the grounds so either of them sounds good to me. Ravenclaw is also pretty cool. My dad’s best friend, Luna, was in Ravenclaw. She’s a bit strange but really clever about animals. She has this suitcase that her husband got from his granddad that has all these enclosures inside it that look like natural habitats and they go around the world learning about all these new magical creatures. I think it would be pretty great to be like her too.”

Millie listens, attention rapt, hanging on Alice’s every word. Dudley is also listening intently and Neville can tell that he’s trying his hardest to absorb as much information as he can. He can’t imagine what it must be like being thrown headlong into a completely different world – one he had been taught to fear growing up. For someone suddenly forced to join it, he seems to be taking it in his stride. It only serves to make Neville admire him more.

As promised, post-lunch they visit Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, by far Alice’s favourite shop in all of Diagon Alley. He loves it too. There’s something nostalgic about it, a small capsule of the happy and carefree days before the war started in earnest. George and Ron have done a good job of keeping Fred’s spirit alive in every aspect of the store and stepping into it feels a bit like stepping into a much noisier, more colourful version of The Burrow. Which is why he’s surprised when Dudley tenses as soon as they step inside.

“You alright?” he asks quietly as the girls immediately go tearing off to the other end of the shop. “You look terrified.”

“These are Harry’s friends, right? The ones with the red hair?” asks Dudley, staring in particular at the display of Ton Tongue Toffees opposite, and Neville nods. “I’ve… let’s just say we’ve met and I had nightmares for months afterwards.”

Neville frowns. He can’t imagine the twins or Ron ever doing anything that terrifying, but he also knows that the Weasleys are fiercely protective of their own. He’s seen the fury in their eyes as they stood up for those they cared about and combining that with someone scared of magic, it didn’t surprise him that Dudley had been traumatised.

“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want,” says Neville. “I’ll get Ron to keep an eye out for the girls and help them buy a few things. I can treat you to dessert in the meantime.”

Dudley looks conflicted but eventually nods.

“Thanks, mate. I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

Telling Dudley to wait there for a moment, he makes his way up the staircase to talk to Ron. He tries to be as vague as possible about who he’s with, not knowing if Dudley’s ready to tell Harry about Millie’s powers yet, but he’s sure Ron knows who he is anyway. He agrees to keep an eye on the girls, accepts the four galleons for their shopping and after briefly catching Alice to let her know the new plan, Neville makes his way back down to Dudley.

“If you were hoping to keep Millie’s powers a secret from Harry for longer, I think you might have lost that battle already. I’m pretty sure Ron recognised you and he’ll tell Harry for sure.”

“I kind of figured coming here that Harry would find out, so I’m not too worried. I’ve been half expecting to bump into him the whole day so the fact that I haven’t is some kind of miracle.”

Neville nods and begins leading the way to Florean Fortescue’s. It was now run by Ethel, the tiny witch who used to work in the kitchen with Fortescue and could subsequently keep business going once the war was over. The name stayed in his memory.

“I appreciate you thinking of me,” says Dudley as they step into the shop. “And for all of today too. I haven’t seen Millie this happy in years.”

“It’s no problem,” says Neville. “I knew when I saw you looking so lost earlier that I had to see if I could help. And Alice has never really had friends her age, so it means a lot to me that she seems to have taken to Millie.”

“They’re going to keep us on our toes, aren’t they?” Dudley asks and Neville nods emphatically, pausing to place their orders.

“It’s going to be one hell of an adventure,” says Neville.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Neville smiles, wondering what kind forces had put Dudley Dursley in his path that day and how best to thank them.

The rest of the day goes by far too quickly for Neville’s liking and hardly any time seems to pass before they’re back in the Leaky Cauldron and Dudley is proclaiming that it’s time to leave if he and Millie want to be back in Surrey before it’s dark.

“Dudley, before you go, do you have a fireplace at home?” asks Neville and Dudley nods. “Good. I’m going to send a letter to the Ministry of Magic asking them to put you on the Floo grid. It’ll let you communicate via a fireplace in a similar way to your telephones. Then you’ll have a more immediate way to get hold of Millie or me if you need to.”

Though he was thinking in terms of a parent wanting to have a line of communication open with their child’s teacher, it occurs to him that after the day they’ve just had, it sounded like he was just asking Dudley to keep in touch. And if he was honest, though he was slightly mortified at the implication, it wasn’t entirely too far off.

“God, Neville, that’s so kind of you. It would be such a help. Thanks so much.”

“Don’t mention it. I can’t imagine how scared I’d be if I knew I was going to be entrusting Alice to other people without being able to see her every day, so anything I can do to make it easier for you – just shout.”

“I appreciate it so much,” says Dudley and Neville smiles back shyly. He turns back to their daughters, who are in the middle of their own earnest goodbyes.

“You could write to me if you want,” Alice is saying to Millie. “You can send Humphrey to test him out. It’ll be so nice to hear from you.”

“You’re going to see her in less than two weeks, Ali,” laughs Neville, smoothing down her flyaway hair.

“Yes, but that’s _ages_ away, Dad. What if she forgets me by then?”

“I won’t,” Millie promises. “I’ll send Humphrey as soon as I can, alright?”

“Alright,” grins Alice.

“It was lovely to meet you, Millie,” says Neville. “Thank you for spending time with Ali today.”

“You’re welcome,” Millie replies. “It was lovely meeting you too, N- I mean Professor Longbottom.”

“You can call me Neville when we’re not at school.” He winks and Millie nods bashfully, then turning to Dudley who is just finishing his goodbye to Alice, he smiles. “Meeting you today was such a pleasant surprise. Thanks for letting us tag along with you on your shopping trip.”

“Thank _you_,” Dudley counters. “If it wasn’t for you today would have been a huge terrifying disaster and nowhere the amount of fun we had today. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was nothing,” says Neville, and before his brain has time to catch up with what he’s doing, he’s reaching for a hug from Dudley. He half expects to be rebuffed – after all, they’ve only just met and Dudley doesn’t strike him as much of a hugger, but to his surprise, Dudley’s arms open. Though it’s by no means a long hug, it lasts long enough for Neville to realise that Dudley’s aftershave or shampoo or whatever it is smells _amazing_, and also that Dudley gives the kind of hugs where one is never enough.

He knows then that he’s in deep trouble.

Alice and Neville stand outside the Leaky Cauldron, waving to Millie and Dudley until they disappear around the corner, after which Neville announces that it’s time for Alice to head upstairs and get ready for bed, even if he knows she isn’t going to sleep for a long while still. It’s probably going to take hours for her to wind down after the day she’s had.

“Looks like you both had a fun day,” says Hannah, pouring Neville an ale as he slumps at the bar counter.

“It was rather,” says Neville, accepting the pint gratefully. “It was great watching Ali making a friend.”

“And you?” says Hannah. “You looked like you were making a friend yourself.”

There’s a hint of teasing there, but no malice or jealousy and Neville finds himself grateful again that they’re still on such good terms.

“Yeah, he was standing in Flourish and Blotts looking like a spooked unicorn and I couldn’t just leave him there, so I asked if he needed any help. You know he’s Harry’s cousin?”

“Ali told me,” says Hannah, wiping down the counter as she speaks, then looking up at him over the top of her glasses, she grins. “And you fancy him.”

Neville considers denying it, but there would be no use. Hannah knows him too well.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Only to me,” says Hannah. “Still, with his history with Harry are you sure it’s the wisest? Maybe it’s worth talking to Harry about it before becoming too invested – friendship or otherwise.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” says Neville. “I’ll make a point to talk to him when I can.”

Hannah smiles and leaves him to finish his pint in silence.

Later that night, after a few games of gobstones with Alice that he strategically loses each time so that she doesn’t get covered in goo right after her bath and afterwards tucking her into bed where she falls asleep almost instantly, he hears a rap on his window. It’s Humphrey. Neville’s heart leaps into his throat.

“Hey you,” he says, petting his soft feathers as he detaches the letters from his leg. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

There are two letters on the kind of lined paper that muggles use and Neville finds ingenious. He wonders why no one has invented lined parchment yet. It would be so easy to do.

One letter is addressed to Alice in a neat, but childlike handwriting. The other is addressed to him in the somewhat untidy scrawl of someone who doesn’t often write letters. Sneaking to Alice’s room, he quietly places the letter down next to her glasses on her bedside table and makes his way back to his room to give his full attention to Dudley’s letter.

_Hi Neville_

_We thought that Surrey to London didn’t seem too far for us to send Humphrey on his first delivery, and neither of us could really wait to talk to you again if we’re honest._

_Thanks again for today. It’s been a rough few years for us and I was sure all of this with Millie’s magic was going to be one thing too many for me to cope with, but you’ve set my mind at ease and now I know Hogwarts is going to be amazing for her. It really means a lot to me that you would take time to help someone you barely know beyond that he spent his childhood beating up one of your best friends and I honestly don’t know how to make it up to you, but if you ever need lessons on anything muggle for whatever strange reason, I’d be happy to help._

_Knowing that you are going to be one of Millie’s teachers is reassuring. It’s good to know that there’s someone as kind and generous as you keeping an eye on her for me. Beyond that, I enjoyed spending time with you today and I’m looking forward to getting to know you more._

_I realise that Humphrey might arrive quite late, so please don’t feel that you have to reply right away. I’ve let Millie know that Alice will probably be asleep by the time this reaches her, so you can send him back whenever you’re ready._

_With gratitude_

_– Dudley_

There’s a little mark next to his name that Dudley seems to have painted over with some kind of white paint but when Neville turns the page around to see if there’s anything on the back, he notices a raised ‘x’ beneath the splotch. He doesn’t know what’s sweeter to him – the knowledge that Dudley wrote an ‘x’ or the fact that he was too embarrassed to leave it there.

Deciding that with all of his lesson prep, he wasn’t going to have time to respond tomorrow, he quickly pens his reply.

_Hi Dudley_

_Thank you for getting in touch so quickly. I was very grateful for your letter and I am sure Alice will be just as grateful for Millie’s once she’s awake. _

_We both had a blast spending the day with you. Millie is all Alice can talk about and it’s such a welcome change from the lonely, often sad little girl we see day-to-day. _

_I would love to learn about muggle things. I took Muggle Studies as a subject at school, but I’m not entirely sure how accurate those lessons were so it would be really interesting to hear it from you._

_On what you said in your letter, please don’t ever think that I hold the things you did in the past against you. Harry only speaks well of you now and if he’s forgiven you, then I’m definitely in no position to hold any kind of second-hand grudge. The man I met today seems to be kind, funny, humble and an amazing father. That’s how I see you now and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it as we get to know each other better._

_I’ll keep an eye on Millie for you, but I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m sure she’s going to thrive at Hogwarts. She has a big heart, a sharp head on her shoulders and Alice, who will probably curse the first person to give her a nasty look. On that note, I’ve sent that letter to the Ministry and will let you know as soon as it’s set up so we can test it._

_I’m really looking forward to seeing you again._

_With equal gratitude_

_– Neville x_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Additional warnings: Mentions of minor character death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. There's angst now y'all.

A few days before September First, Neville receives confirmation from the Ministry that Dudley has been connected to the floo network. Since he wants to be sure that Dudley knows how to use it properly, he asks if he can pop around and bring Alice along to see Millie. Dudley agrees with enthusiasm that Neville is sure is exaggerated by his hopefulness.

Upon arriving, Millie immediately whisks Alice away to her room which means that there’s a good long period where Dudley and Neville are in the living room alone. He still hasn’t spoken to Harry and it’s far more difficult to keep a respectable distance standing here in Dudley’s softly lit living room in front of a roaring fireplace than it was via letter. Neville knows that he will have to set up a time to meet with Harry as soon as he gets back to the Leaky Cauldron.

After demonstrating how to properly activate the floo network and getting Dudley to practice several times (trying very hard not to sneak peeks at his arse as he does), Neville is confident that Dudley knows enough to be able to use it properly.

“Well, it seems like you’ve got it,” says Neville. “Thanks for having us over. We’d better get back home before we miss dinner again.”

“Why not just join us for dinner?” asks Dudley. “There’s no need to rush and it’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for Millie and me. Not that it’s going to be anything fancy, mind. We were talking about just ordering a few pizzas tonight.”

Neville is conflicted for a moment. It would certainly fall outside of the bounds of keeping a respectable distance until he speaks to Harry, but he really doesn’t want to leave right now and Alice has barely had any time with Millie.

“You know, I’ve heard a lot about pizza but I’ve never had any,” says Neville and Dudley grins.

“You’re going to love it.”

He goes off to order the food and Neville steals a pinch of floo powder to let Hannah know that they won’t be home for a while.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she says when Neville explains the situation.

“I don’t,” Neville admits. “But I’m going to speak to Harry about it tomorrow.”

“Good. Have fun then and don’t be out too late with Ali.”

“We won’t be.”

He gets back up to his feet only to see Dudley jump and look away as if he had been watching him. Neville’s face immediately heats up.

“Sorry, I pinched a bit of your floo powder. I was just letting Ali’s mum know that I’m going to have her home a little later tonight. She worries otherwise.”

“You don’t have to apologise,” says Dudley. “Can I get you something to drink? Beer? Wine?”

Neville knows that beer is the safer option, that sharing a bottle of wine is more intimate than drinking two separate bottles of beer, but the fact that Dudley had offered it intrigues him. Surely he knows that too. And yet _he_ offered it.

Maybe he needs to stop over-thinking things. Either way, he opts for the wine and the two of them settle down in front of the fireplace. There is a large black screen mounted above the mantelpiece that Neville realises from his Muggle Studies classes must be the television, though he’s never seen one as big or flat as this one. Apart from an array of electronic devices that Neville only has the most basic knowledge of, Dudley’s house is neat, comfortable and not all that different to the flat he had lived in right after leaving Hogwarts.

Dudley keeps glancing at him and Neville is sure he’s not imagining the somewhat self-conscious look on his face. He offers what he hopes is a reassuring smile and takes a sip of wine.

“So we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the magical world and Hogwarts, but I still don’t know much about your life. What do you do for a living?”

“Oh,” says Dudley, seemingly caught off-guard at having a question aimed at him. “I own a gym. Do you have those in the magical world?”

“I can’t say that we do, but the word sounds familiar.”

“It’s basically a building full of machines that help you exercise.”

Now that Dudley’s explaining it, he remembers learning about them and no sooner has he found out that Dudley is the owner of a room full of exercise equipment than it occurs to him that Dudley must be in some kind of exquisite shape. It’s difficult to tell with the layers he’s wearing, but Neville has never had a shortage of imagination – especially at times when it’s the most inconvenient.

“That’s cool,” says Neville, trying to reign himself in. “I’d love to come to take a look sometime.”

“Of course – you’re welcome to visit whenever you feel like it. I also coach boxing there on most days.”

“Oh yeah? That’s the sport where the goal is to punch each other as hard as possible, right?” He hopes that it comes off as teasing and not as mocking. Thankfully Dudley laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Yeah well Quidditch as a sport is fucked rules-wise and you have balls that try to concuss you, so your lot don’t have much room to talk either.”

“Fair enough,” Neville replies. “You enjoy it?”

“I love it. Boxing saved my life. I honestly don’t know what kind of a person I would be without it. It gave me somewhere healthy to channel all my anger and aggression, y’know? So getting to give that to other kids means a lot.”

Neville’s heart catches again, wondering how it’s possible that every time Dudley says something he becomes more wonderful. Upstairs, he hears Alice and Millie giggling.

“You work with kids a lot then?” asks Neville.

“Yeah,” says Dudley. “Mostly teenagers, but I have a few that are a bit younger. You’d know all about that age group though I’m sure.”

“Yeah.” Neville smiles and takes a sip of his wine. “I haven’t been teaching for long, only about six years or so since the previous Herbology professor retired, but man, nothing I was doing before compares to it. I just love seeing how the confidence in them builds as they learn. It makes me think that I might be for them what Professor Sprout was for me.”

“I feel the same way. If I can be a fraction to them of what Coach Nesbitt was to me, I’ll be able to retire happy one day.”

Just then the doorbell rings as their pizza arrives. The smell is heavenly and it’s fascinating to watch Dudley handing over bits of paper to the delivery person. With the payment settled, Dudley picks up the stack of boxes and begins making his way to the kitchen with them.

“Millet! Ali! Dinner’s ready!” He shouts on his way past the staircase and Neville doesn’t know why, but Dudley using Alice’s nickname is what solidifies it for him. He may not be there yet, but he knows then that he’s going to fall in love with this man and he hopes for his and Alice’s sake that he’s emotionally ready for it.

* * *

He’s strangely nervous as he stands in front of Harry’s office door the next day. It’s not like he’s expecting a bad outcome. He knows that Harry goes to visit Dudley and Millie often, knows that Dudley and Millie get invited to all of the kids’ birthday parties, even if he’s not always brave enough to show. Harry and Dudley are on good terms. He doesn’t see how Harry could be upset about it. And yet, the worry persists.

To his relief, when Neville explains the situation over coffee, Harry is perfectly okay with it.

“It’s good to see you looking so happy again,” Harry says, “and from what I hear from Ron, Millie and Alice get along really well. Nearly talked his ear off about all the things they were going to get up to at Hogwarts.”

Neville’s shoulders sag in relief and Harry gives Neville a reassuring clap on the back.

“Don’t worry, mate, you have my full blessing. If you and Dudley became a thing I would be delighted for you both.”

“Oh man thanks, mate. I was so worried that things were going to be weird, what with the way Ron was acting when I was helping Dudley out in Diagon Alley.”

“No, not at all,” says Harry. “I’ll admit it stung a little when Dudley didn’t tell me Millie is magical, but I think it was all just a lot for him to process. Also, I’m kind of relieved he didn’t ask for my help in Diagon Alley. Can you imagine the field day the Prophet would have had if they knew I was showing my muggle cousin and his magical daughter around? No, if I could have chosen anyone in the world to help out Millie and Dudley that day it would have been you and Alice.”

“Thanks, mate, I appreciate that,” Neville replies.

They spend a little while catching up after that and since the day is still relatively young, Neville decides to make a stop at St Mungo’s before heading back to the Leakey Cauldron. At the front desk of the ward, Neville is pleased to see that Padma is on shift.

“Hey, Neville,” she says with a small smile. “I’m afraid she’s been sleeping a lot more these days so I’m not sure how responsive she’ll be, but you’re welcome to go through and sit with her.”

“Thanks, Padma,” he says, and before opening the ward door, he takes a deep breath. It’s been almost two years, but seeing only one occupied bed at the end of the ward isn’t any easier now than it had been the first time. He pulls up his usual seat next to his mum’s bed, sets the box of Drooble’s next to the flowerpot on her bedside table and watches her as she sleeps. She’s looking a lot older these days and though he knows part of it is just age, he also knows that it’s because she desperately misses his dad, even if she can’t put it into words.

“Hi Mum,” he says, softly. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I last visited. It’s been a bit of a busy summer this year. I don’t know if I told you, but Little Alice is starting at Hogwarts in a few days, so we went on a camping trip for a few weeks and then the rest of it has been about getting ready for the year ahead. I’ll try to come more often once things get settled. I’m also sorry I didn’t bring Little Alice with me. She’s with Hannah for the day, but she’s done a whole stack of new drawings for your wall so I’ll bring them along the next time we come to visit.”

Part of him wonders why he bothers telling her all this. He knows she doesn’t understand any of it. He supposes it’s that small bit of childish hope in him that somehow, someday something will break through. He desperately wants to reach out and take her hand, to have that fragile but physical connection to her, but he knows from experience that this usually startles her, so he keeps his hands where they are.

“Gran’s doing alright,” he continues. “She’s getting on in years now so she’s not as mobile, but her mind’s as sharp as ever. She’s thankfully stopped asking me when I’m going to find myself another wife so that I can give Little Alice some siblings to play with. I think she figures it’s too late now what with her heading off to Hogwarts, so now she’s just making sure I’m teaching my students what she thinks is the correct way to re-pot venomous tentacula.

“On that, I think I’ve met someone, Mum. He’s a muggle, but his daughter is magical and is Little Alice’s age so they’re going to be going to Hogwarts together. I’ve never seen Little Alice make a friend so quickly and Dudley… he’s just such a surprise. It feels like he came out of nowhere and whatever it is between us developed so quickly that my head is spinning. I don’t even know if he’d even be interested in me that way, but it almost doesn’t matter. He’s just on my mind all the time at the moment and all I want to do is get to know him better. It feels like it did in the beginning with Hannah, but much more intense somehow. I think it’s because I know what to expect now and I’m not as uncertain as I was back then. Not that I’m not terrified, though. I’m scared shitless that I haven’t been careful enough with my heart.

“I wonder if you felt like this with dad. Gran told me the story of how you two fell in love so many times, but I wish I could have heard it from you. It’s not the same told second-hand. Not like the way Mr and Mrs Weasley tell their story – with all of these little side notes about how they felt about each development between them. I just…”

He fights back the insistent tears. If his mum wakes up he doesn’t want her to see him crying. It always confuses and upsets her. This isn’t an easy task, however. He loves his Gran, he really does, but there are times like this when he just desperately, hopelessly longs for a real mum. _His_ mum.

There’s stirring from the bed and a moment later, Alice Longbottom’s eyes open. Her face breaks into a smile as she sees Neville and he knows she’ll be looking for her gum next, so he leans over to pick it up. As he hands it to her, her smile widens. On the grand scale of things, he knows these exchanges with his mum aren’t much, but they’re all he gets so he treasures each one.

“Hi mum, it’s good to see you,” he says, and she nods as she starts tearing into her candy. “I was just saying that I’m sorry I didn’t bring Little Alice. She would have liked to see you before school.”

He repeats most of what he’d said to her while she was asleep, to much the same response, and when it seems like she’s starting to get sleepy again, he tells her he’ll visit again soon and carries a fresh pocketful of precious wrappers home with him.

* * *

On the morning of September First, Alice is waiting by the door of the Leaky Cauldron for Millie and Dudley to show up. Neville watches her with amusement tinged with a small bit of sadness. Either Alice hasn’t worked out that she’ll be able to see Millie almost every day for the next seven years, or she’s scared that things will be different when they get to Hogwarts and is desperate to make sure she spends as much time with Millie as she can while it lasts.

He remembers how lonely those first few years at Hogwarts were. The other Gryffindor boys tried their best to include him as much as possible, but Harry and Ron were always off saving the world and Seamus and Dean were (and still are) _SeamusAndDean_, the closest thing Neville has seen to actual soulmates, so by default he was always the odd one out. He understands Alice’s fear, but he sees the same fear in Millie’s eyes from time to time so he doesn’t think that Alice has too much to worry about.

Right on time, the bell above the door tinkles and Dudley, Millie, Humphrey and an enormous trunk make their way through the door. Millie unceremoniously sets down Humphrey’s cage on the nearest table and runs to hug Alice and he can see the tension immediately leave Alice’s body. She’s going to be more than okay.

“Hey,” says Dudley, setting down the trunk.

“Hey,” Neville replies, greeting Dudley with a hug. He doesn’t know where the idea comes from, but he realises he doesn’t want to be the first one to break the hug. But strangely, it seems that Dudley’s had the same thought because a second passes. Then five.

And Dudley is just not letting go.

They’re interrupted a few seconds later by Hannah making her way down the stairs.

“Hey, Nev, did I hear the door or – oh you _are_ here. Good.”

Dudley jumps away as if Neville had burned him and Hannah gives Neville an apologetic look over his shoulder

“Hi, Dudley,” she says making her way over to him and stretching out a hand for him to shake. “I didn’t get the chance to properly meet you. Hannah.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Dudley says. “Your pub is great and the food is incredible. The only drawback is that I can’t recommend it to anyone I know.”

“Oh you can,” says Neville. “Whether they manage to find it or not is a different story.”

Dudley laughs and Neville can’t help but feel pleased with himself.

They take the Underground to Kings Cross, and as they stand in front of the column between platforms nine and ten, Neville leans over to Dudley.

“How are you feeling?”

“About getting to Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters? Mostly curious. My mum made sure we left before we saw how Harry got to it and even though I tried to sneak a peek, it just looked like he vanished.”

“You’re going to enjoy this,” says Neville. Hannah goes ahead with Alice and when she’s sure that they aren’t being noticed, they both slip through the wall.

“Oh my god, is it really as simple as that?” asks Dudley, laughing slightly.

“You’re not impressed?” says Neville, a little dejectedly. Even after being part of the magical world for eleven years before his first Hogwarts trip, he’d found it pretty cool walking through what looked like a solid wall.

“No it’s amazing – I just thought it was more… I don’t know, _magicky_, more complicated or something. No wonder I never noticed it. It’s so subtle.”

“That’s the idea,” laughs Neville.

He looks down at Millie who looks fairly green at this new development and Neville crouches down so that they’re eye-to-eye.

“Hey, Millie, I know it looks scary, but I promise that nothing bad will happen. If you’d like, me and your dad could hold your hands while we go through?”

Millie, seemingly too terrified for words, simply nods. Neville and Dudley each use a hand each to steer the trolley while they clutch onto Millie’s between them and just as Neville feels the two beside him flinching as they brace for impact, they’re through and standing in front of the familiar red steam engine.

“Holy _shit_,” says Neville softly while Alice is sprinting towards Millie to check if she’s alright. “That was properly terrifying.”

Neville laughs.

“Now that we’re through it, I can tell you about the time that Harry and Ron ran at it and it was sealed so they took a flying car to Hogwarts instead.”

“What?!” says Dudley, but Neville doesn’t have time to explain further because Harry and Ginny are heading their way.

“Hey, Dudley,” says Ginny, hugging him as she greets him. “It’s lovely to see you again. Millie must be so excited.”

“She’s over the moon,” says Dudley. “She’s spent every night this week trying to memorise the first chapters of each of her textbooks.”

“Sounds like Hermione,” snorts Harry. He takes a step closer to Dudley. “How are _you_ feeling about it?”

“Less over the moon,” he admits. “I think it’s starting to hit now how quiet the house is going to be when I get home later.”

Neville’s heart sinks at this and he reaches out to squeeze Dudley’s arm reassuringly. He wishes he could stay with him for the day and just apparate to the school later, but he’d volunteered for on-board duty before he ever knew that meeting Dudley was a possibility.

For all the warmth and welcome Dudley gets from the Potters, the Weasleys seem to be a strangely cold towards him. They greet him with enough friendliness, but there’s no attempt to engage him in conversation or to explain anything they’re talking about. Barring Hermione, who strikes up a bit of small talk with him about what it’s like going from not knowing the magical world exists to suddenly being a part of it, the rest of the clan acts like he’s not there. The worst part of it for Neville is seeing how unfazed Dudley is by it as if this is what he expected. Neville’s furious on his behalf and has just resolved to mouth off about it when the whistle sounds to tell the students to get settled on the train.

Dudley goes sheet white as Millie races towards him.

“Dad, they’re calling us onto the train,” she says and then the smile that had been there a moment ago disappears as she begins to cry.

“Hey, no, don’t do that or you’re going to set me off too,” says Dudley cupping the sides of her face to wipe her tears away, though tears are pouring down his cheeks at the same time. “You’re the bravest, most wonderful person I know and you were born to do amazing things. Just remember that while you’re learning about all this awesome magic, alright?”

“I will,” she says tearfully before reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a folded up page. “I did a drawing that you can put up on the fridge until I get home and can do some more.”

“That’s really kind of you, Millet. I’ll treasure it until I get to see you again,” says Dudley, kissing her forehead and standing up. “Now you’d better hurry or you’ll miss the train and be stuck with me.”

Millie looks for a moment like she might be considering it.

“No,” says Dudley softly. “You need to go, Millet. You’ve been given special gifts and this is the best place for you to learn how to use them. Now go be a good friend to Alice and don’t you dare forget to write.”

“I won’t,” says Millie with a small smile and with that she takes off running to the compartment Alice picked out for them.

Neville, fighting a lump in his throat, pulls Dudley into another hug and lets him cry there for a moment before Dudley takes a deep breath and seems to mostly compose himself.

“God, all this fucking crying,” he says, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m so grateful for you, Neville. I don’t know how I would have managed today without you.”

“It’s a pleasure,” he replies. “I’ll watch out for her for you, alright? And you know that I’m only ever a floo away. Anything you need, anything I can help with, you let me know.”

“Thank you,” says Dudley, the tears that he’d just wiped away forming again in the bottom of his eyes. “You’ll let me know what houses Millie and Alice are in, won’t you?”

“As soon as I can.”

Neville smiles, offers Dudley one last hug and makes his way towards Alice and Millie’s compartment.

As the train pulls away and Dudley grows smaller, fading into the distance, Neville wishes he knew how to be in two places at once.

* * *

Later that night, Neville floos Dudley with the good news.

“Hufflepuff,” he says, grinning. “Both of them.”

“Oh my god, that’s what Millie was hoping for!” Dudley punches the air and it’s so endearing that Neville has to resist the urge to pull the rest of himself through the fireplace. “Our girls really got sorted together?”

Neville tries not to fall apart at Dudley calling them ‘our girls’.

“Yeah, Millie got sorted first and Alice was sorted not long after. I wish you could have seen it. They looked so relieved and pleased.”

“I’m sure,” says Dudley. He looks a little drawn after the emotions of the day, but he seems genuinely excited at the news. “Could I ask you to pass on something for them?”

“Of course,” Neville replies and Dudley immediately goes off to collect it. With nothing else to occupy himself with, Neville takes a glance around the living room and notices a framed picture on the opposite wall that hadn’t been there the other night. He instantly knows that this is the picture Millie gave Dudley earlier. Millie is quite the artist – the words ‘BEST FRIENDS’ are neatly and artistically written over a drawing of two little girls that he can tell instantly from Millie’s curls and Alice’s glasses are supposed to be their daughters. Over to the other side of the page is what is clearly meant to be Dudley and him and his breath catches as he realises Millie has drawn them holding hands.

He’s so fixated on this drawing that he jumps when Dudley comes back holding three cupcakes. Two are decorated with yellow and black and the other is gold and red.

“You made cupcakes?” asks Neville, impressed.

“Well, I had them made,” Dudley explains. “Two for each house, just in case. So now the Gryffindor one here is for you.”

Neville hopes he manages to control his face into a grateful smile instead of the dopey grin his mind is begging him to release.

“That’s sweet of you,” he says. “I’ll give these to the girls first thing tomorrow morning and in the meantime try to avoid the temptation you’ve put in front of me after my impressive eating at the feast earlier.”

Dudley laughs softly.

“Don’t try too hard,” he says, sitting down just in front of the hearth so that he’s at eye level with Neville, “I’m told that they’re salted caramel flavoured.”

And with that, he hands Neville the cupcakes. To make it all the more unbearably perfect, their fingers brush as the cakes exchange hands. He glances up at Dudley to gauge his reaction, but the man has an excellent poker face.

As Neville sets his cupcake down on his desk to enjoy the next day, he thinks back to the drawing again and prays with everything inside of him that Millie turns out to have a natural gift for divination.


	3. Chapter 3

At the beginning of October, Hagrid tells Neville that the kittens are old enough to leave their mother. The excited squeal from Alice and Millie when he relays this information is near deafening.

When it comes time to choose which kitten to adopt, Neville is impressed that Alice’s comment about sharing back in Diagon Alley hadn’t been a throwaway remark. Though Millie tries to take a backseat in the choosing process _(“it’s your cat, Ali – you should choose the one you like best”_), Alice is insistent that they pick one they both like. In the end, they choose a cat that is black and white everywhere except for its orange stripy nose.

They sit in Neville’s office a short while later, waiting for Dudley to floo and teasing the kitten with a spare quill.

“What should we call her, Mills?” Alice asks.

“I don’t know, whatever you’d like best,” says Millie, but Alice shakes her head.

“No, it should be something that works for both of us, since she’s our kitten,” she says, looking to Neville for help.

“Oh, I don’t know, Ali,” he says, scratching his head. “I’m no good at naming things. You want it to work for both of you. Why don’t you just smush your names together? Call her ‘Malice’ or something.”

As soon as he says it, a smile spreads across both faces.

“Oh my god, no, I meant it as a joke,” he says, but he knows it’s too late.

“It’s _perfect_,” says Alice, grinning as she picks the kitten up. “Hello, Malice.”

He’s never seen anything less malicious in his whole life.

Just then the fireplace turns green and Dudley’s head appears in the flames. Millie wastes no time filling her dad in on the day’s events.

“Dad! Ali got her kitten! We’ve called her Malice, like ‘Millie’ and ‘Alice’ together!”

Dudley laughs.

“Whoa, no ‘hi, dad – it’s so nice to see you’. Nope, we’re straight in there with the kitten news.”

“Sorry,” says Millie. “I was too excited.”

“Well, I can see why – that’s the sweetest little cat I’ve ever seen. Whose idea was ‘Malice’ for something that small and fuzzy?”

“Mine,” says Neville sheepishly. “In my defence, though, I was joking when I suggested it.”

“Ooh, you should know better by now than to joke around eleven-year-olds,” says Dudley. It’s so good to see him that Neville momentarily forgets to react to what he said. When he realises a second later and laughs to compensate, it sounds so fake that Neville wants to crawl under the rug and disappear. To Dudley’s credit, he doesn’t bat an eyelid.

They watch the girls playing with Malice for a while before Dudley looks at Neville.

“You busy later?” he asks.

Neville thinks to the stack of fourth-year projects he was planning to mark that evening, but he has a feeling that Dudley is about to invite him over and he reasons that he doesn’t need to hand back the results until Friday.

“No, not at all,” he only half lies. “Why?”

“I was thinking we could continue your muggle education tonight,” he says. “You know, show you a movie that wasn’t made in the thirties.”

“Hey, I thought The Wizard of Oz was great,” says Neville defensively.

“Yeah and it’s also the only film you’ve ever seen,” Dudley retorts. “The Wizard of Oz is a classic, but you won’t believe how good they’ve gotten since then.”

“Very well,” says Neville, though there was never a reality where he wouldn’t be spending that night watching a film with Dudley. “I’ll be round at about seven if that works for you?”

“Perfect,” he says. “I’ll make us dinner too, so don’t worry about eating before you come over.”

Neville’s stomach swoops in that now-familiar way. This sounds like a date. It has to be a date. He knows that dinner and a movie is the stereotypical muggle first date. What is Dudley playing at?

“Sounds good,” he says, in a voice somewhat higher than the one he usually uses. Out of the corner of his eye, he’s sure that he sees Alice and Millie exchanging a significant look.

Seven that evening can’t come soon enough and no sooner has it gone twenty to than Neville is practically running out of the grounds of Hogwarts to apparate to Dudley’s front door. Upon arrival, he rings the doorbell and tries to fight down the mounting panic when Dudley doesn’t answer him straight away.

_He’s probably just busy,_ Neville chides himself. _You did arrive a full fifteen minutes early._

His fears are assuaged a moment later when Dudley shows up to the door, wearing just a pair of boxers and a towelling robe, dripping wet and smelling like that heavenly mix of horse chestnut and fern that makes Neville’s head spin.

“Hey,” he says. “Sorry I’m answering the door like this, but in my defence, you’re early.”

“No, it’s… it’s fine,” he says, trying very hard not to stare at the expanse of chest on display. He was completely right in assuming Dudley’s profession would mean a magnificent body. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to form a coherent thought. “I, er, I mean, it didn’t take me as long to get out of the grounds as I thought it would.”

“I thought you were going to just show up via floo,” laughs Dudley, stepping aside to let Neville in.

“Ah, it’s considered rude to just appear in someone’s house,” Neville explains, “so we usually just apparate to the doorstep.”

“Well, I appreciate it. Who knows what state you would have found me in if I didn’t have any warning?” Neville _really_ can’t let himself think about that. And since when is Dudley this overtly flirtatious? His head is spinning. “I’d better get some real clothes on. Please make yourself comfortable. I’ll get us something to drink as soon as I’m ready.”

Neville wants to tell Dudley that he doesn’t have to worry about changing, but bites his tongue and tells himself to get a grip.

Though the scent of Dudley lingers for a moment, Neville begins to notice the scent of whatever Dudley is making for dinner. It smells heavenly. He settles down on the couch as he glances over into the kitchen and smiles at how the fridge is now completely covered in drawings. Most are done in Millie’s surprisingly advanced style, but he sees a few here and there that must have been done by Alice. His memo board back at Hogwarts looks much the same and the thought makes him giddy in a way he hasn’t been for years.

_Our girls,_ Dudley had said.

Dudley comes downstairs a minute or two later wearing jeans and a deep blue polo shirt that grants Neville a far better look at his arms than he was expecting. He’s struck again by how handsome Dudley is and how until he’s has a better idea of how Dudley sees this going, it’s probably best to not dwell on that too much.

“I’m just doing a spag bol, but I’ve never had any complaints about it,” says Dudley, as he begins fiddling around with the pots on the stove. Neville has no idea what Dudley means by ‘spag bol’, but hopes he can work it out from context clues. What it turns out to be is a dish with meat and pasta and it’s so delicious Neville goes back for seconds.

“That was fucking amazing,” he says, wiping his mouth with a serviette. “Thanks so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Dudley smiles as he begins clearing the plates away. It’s difficult to tell in the soft light cast by the lamp in the corner and the fireplace in the living room, but it looks like he might be blushing. Neville finds it incredibly sweet.

“Do you cook a lot, then?”

“Just enough to keep Mille and me fed,” says Dudley as he sets the plates down in the sink and rinses them off. “My mum keeps trying to set us up with a meal delivery service, but I always refuse. I was determined when Millie came along that I was going to learn how to do everything, so I took a few classes to learn the basics and the rest is all collecting simple recipes so that we don’t eat the same five things all the time. I keep telling mum we’re alright but given how useless my dad is at helping her out with anything around the house I don’t blame her for not believing me.”

“Well you’re doing a hell of a lot better than me on that front then,” says Neville. “I honestly wouldn’t know where to start with cooking. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to learn. My gran used to cook for the two of us when I was little, then obviously at the school all your meals are prepared for you, then out of school I moved in with a few friends and one of them really loved cooking so we always left it to him and it was in that time that Hannah took over the Leaky Cauldron and we started dating, so I’d eat there all the time, and now I’m back at the school. So when it comes to the kitchen I honestly have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Hm,” says Dudley, drying his hands off on the dishtowel hanging over the oven door handle, “sounds like we could explore the culinary arts as part of your muggle studies.”

“I think I’d like that,” says Neville. There’s a small beat of _something_ in the air between them, but it fades a moment later as Dudley picks up his glass of wine, inviting Neville to do the same.

“We should probably pick something to watch. I’ve narrowed it down to two, so you can let me know which you’d prefer.”

He gives Neville a summary of both. The first is about two muggle magicians battling to create the best magic act of all time and the other is about a detective investigating the disappearance of a woman on an island for the criminally insane.

“Not that one,” he says, shuddering slightly. “I’ll tell you the full story one day, but it’s just… a little too close to home. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he says, setting down that case and opening the other. “This is supposed to be fun, so if there’s a reason you wouldn’t enjoy that one, the last thing I’d do is force you to watch it.”

He offers Dudley a grateful smile and a moment later, they’re sitting on the couch together with a huge bucket of popcorn and Neville watches the second film he’s ever watched in his life. It’s completely different to The Wizard of Oz in both look and content and within barely five minutes, Neville is completely enraptured. He watches with fascination the way that the two magicians try to destroy each other’s lives and careers, their determination to be the best at what they do and the way it destroys the people around them. He’s never seen a story told like this before and it’s breathtaking.

“I suppose all of these tricks they’re putting so much effort into are probably second nature to you, yeah?” asks Dudley at one point.

“Kind of,” says Neville with a sheepish grin. “I’d be able to recreate most of their tricks with levitation and apparation and those are spells I do almost every day.”

“Thought so.” Dudley grins as he turns back to the screen. Neville smiles and tries to regain his concentration, but it’s difficult to do now because every time he goes for a handful of popcorn it seems that Dudley is doing the same, and with the level of popcorn in the bucket dropping, their hands brush each time. In a moment of pure Gryffindor bravery, the next time it happens, he deliberately catches Dudley’s pinky with his own and tries to swallow his fear when Dudley looks up at him with wide eyes.

_Shitshitshit._ He’s stepped in it this time.

He’s saved by a loud rock song cutting through the tension. It plays for a second or two before Dudley retracts his hand and pulls something out of his pocket. It’s his phone.

“Hi dad,” he says, pausing the film and mouthing _‘so sorry’_ to Neville right after.

Neville can hear Vernon Dursley’s reply through the phone.

_“Dudders! I thought I’d call and remind you that your mother and I still exist.”_

The tinny voice sounds jovial, but there’s an unnecessary bite to his words that sets Neville’s teeth on edge and he doesn’t know if his instant hatred of Vernon is more because of how he abused Harry growing up or the way Dudley’s whole demeanour has changed. His shoulders are slumped now and he suddenly looks exhausted.

_It’s both,_ Neville decides.

“Sorry, Dad, things have just been a bit crazy the past few weeks. How are you and mum?”

_“Mum’s been ill again, but she seems to be on the mend now. She misses you and Millie. How is our granddaughter? Probably a head taller and beating boys away with a bat at her new school I suppose?”_

Neville’s stomach turns a little. _She’s only eleven, you twat, _he wants to yell, but he blessedly manages to restrain himself.

“She’s doing alright,” says Dudley, ignoring Vernon’s last remark, though he can see by how Dudley’s frown deepens that he’d liked it about as much as Neville did.

The conversation from that point is just back and forth over the banalest things Neville could imagine and he can see from the way Dudley’s growing increasingly monosyllabic that all he wants is for the call to be over. Eventually, just when it seems that Dudley is reaching his breaking point, he coughs to interrupt Vernon’s tirade about the young couple that has just moved in next door.

“Sorry, Dad, I’d love to chat more, but I actually have a friend over,” he says.

_“Oh, a female friend?”_ Vernon leers and Neville’s nausea intensifies.

“Male,” says Dudley, screwing up his face.

_“Ah, lads’ night,”_ says Vernon. _“Well, I’ll leave you to it then. Please give your mother a call as soon as you can. You know how she worries about you both.”_

“I know,” sighs Dudley. “I’ll be in touch. Keep well, Dad.”

And midway through Vernon’s farewell, Dudley ends the call.

“I’m so sorry,” says Dudley. “He’s fucking impossible.”

Neville wishes he could do something to help. Dudley’s shoulders are tense now and there’s a crease to his brow that hadn’t been there before the call. He briefly considers saying something, but Dudley’s already started the movie again. Neville spends the rest of the evening chancing glances at Dudley’s tense and folded arms, wondering what the outcome of his daring would have been if Vernon hadn’t chosen that exact moment to call, and lamenting what could have been.

* * *

“So, how was your night with Dudley?” Alice asks as she and Neville take a walk along the banks of the lake before school the next day. The question catches him off-guard. He’s still reeling with the emotions of the night before – the absolute conviction at one point that Dudley felt the way he did and then the twenty-foot wall that went up around him during and after the call with Vernon. The last thing he was expecting was for his eleven-year-old to comment on it.

“It was… it was alright. I feel like we had fun and got to know each other better,” he says, hoping that Alice will take this as answer enough and leave it be, but that’s not how he knows her and he’s not very surprised when she stops walking to look at him seriously.

“Do you fancy him, Dad?”

There’s not a hint of teasing or chiding to it – Alice just wants the facts. He briefly considers denying it, but Alice is sharp and if she’s asking, then it probably means she’s noticed something already.

“I, er, yeah, I reckon I do a bit,” he says, knowing that his cheeks are filling with colour.

“Ha, Millie was right!” says Alice, grinning.

“Millie knows?” says Neville. This is all too overwhelming for this early in the morning.

“No, she just had a hunch.” At seeing how shocked Neville must look, Alice drags him over to the nearest bench so that they can sit down. Neville stares at her, waiting for an explanation. Alice sighs. “Okay, so Millie watches all of these fairytale films where people fall in love and she says there’s always a moment where one of the characters looks at the other while they’re not looking and you can see on their face how much they love that person. She says that’s how you look at Dudley when he’s not looking at you and how Dudley looks at you when you’re not looking at him.”

“Wow, that’s… that’s…”

“It’s okay, Dad,” says Alice. “If it helps, I don’t think Dudley knows. Millie says you’re both as clueless as each other.”

“Oh, well, that’s a comfort,” says Neville, not feeling very comforted at all. He puts an arm around Alice and pulls her into a hug. “Look, whatever is going on between Dudley and me is a matter between us at this stage. I would really appreciate it if you both just leave it for now and let whatever is supposed to happen, happen. And yes, I know that it affects you and Millie, but I promise I will keep you in the loop on the very important things. We just need space to figure this out first, y’know?”

“Yeah, Dad, no problem,” says Alice, snuggling further into him. He strokes her hair and presses a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you lots, kiddo.”

“Love you too, Dad,” she says. They sit like that for a while, watching the giant squid’s tentacles graze the surface of the water hopefully, and Neville wishes he’d brought something to feed it with. It’s always fun to see the tentacles dragging bits of food underwater and he knows, given Alice’s fascination with magical creatures, she would have enjoyed it too. It will have to wait until next time.

As the school bell rings in the distance, signalling the end of breakfast, they make their way back towards the castle, Alice all the while letting Neville know how Malice is doing.

He spends the rest of the day alternating between feeling elated and terrified at this new insight. On the one hand, the fact that Millie seems to think that Dudley has feelings for him is encouraging. On the other hand, the thought of things going wrong in any way, of them building up Alice and Millie’s hopes, only to have to break their hearts later is awful.

By that evening he’s in so much of a daze that he doesn’t hear the tapping at his office window at first until it grows too loud to ignore. Slightly startled, he gets up from his desk and makes his way to the window, relieved to find that it’s Humphrey on the other side of the glass.

“Hey, you don’t usually bring me mail,” says Neville, untying the letter addressed to him from around his ankle. It’s usually much easier for Dudley to floo than write. This is strange and he finds that he feels slightly queasy as he lets Humphrey back out to deliver Millie’s letter. With slightly trembling hands, Neville sits in front of the fireplace and begins reading.

_Dear Neville_

_Firstly, I want to apologise for how last night ended. That’s not what I wanted to have happened and I’m sorry you had to go through the Vernon Dursley experience (even if only second-hand). _

_The thing about my dad is that ever since things have been getting better with me, ever since I’ve been getting better, we’ve become more and more different, to the point where I don’t know how there was a time we ever got along. I can’t remember what it is to make small talk with my dad and have it not feel like a monumental chore. It’s just that we have absolutely nothing to talk about anymore._

_It’s only worse now that Millie’s magical. Millie is one of the only points of conversation we have left really, but it makes me so angry whenever he talks about her like he’s concerned about her, because I know that the moment he knows the truth, she’ll be nothing to him. He’ll feel about her the way he felt about Harry and I just don’t want Millie to feel that too._

_I know I need to do it – he’s going to find out at some point and I’ll feel much better knowing that he found out from me so that I have some degree of control over the situation, but I’m a coward. As far as he and my mum are aware, Millie’s off at a fancy art school in Edinburgh, which, while a generous bending of the truth, is not so far off from it. They know she’s always loved drawing and used to talk about being an artist, I just haven’t ever corrected them._

_I’m a coward in so many more ways, Neville. There’s a lot I haven’t found the nerve to tell them, too much to write here, but the most important and the most pressing at the moment is that I’m gay. I always have been. I’ve known from very young and it was one of the scariest things about growing up in my family. I saw what different got you with my folks. I saw how they treated Harry for having this part of his life he was born with that he couldn’t change about himself. I should have sympathised with him. I should have reached out to him. Instead, I was jealous. He got to escape every September – to go off to a world that knew how different he was and celebrated him for it. I was stuck where I was – with my awful friends and in a toxic family._

_I thought about telling them while I was at uni. I’d started experimenting with dating guys and despite there still being a healthy amount of secrecy involved, I was the happiest I’d ever been. For the first time in my life, I thought things might be okay eventually – that if I told my parents, they’d somehow be alright with it. The world was changing so much, surely they would too? But then on the phone one night Dad started going on and on about how the neighbour’s granddaughter had just come out as a lesbian (in much coarser terms, mind) and the way he said it was just dripping with so much hatred and disdain that I knew I couldn’t tell him. Not without him speaking to me the same way._

_I met Millie’s mum not long after and while I won’t go into detail about what it was like between us, I never really loved her and I’m sure she never really loved me. It was so toxic, but my parents were over the moon, despite how clearly unhappy I was, despite how clearly unhealthy I was. They were just so excited I’d finally found a girl. The didn’t even care that Millie was born out of wedlock. It seemed they were just so excited that they had evidence I’d slept with a woman._

_I still haven’t told them about who I really am. I haven’t told my gym mates. I haven’t told Harry. I haven’t even really told Millie, though I think she knows. But now I’m telling you because I’m also screwing up the last tiny bit of courage I have to add that I’m in love with you._

Neville has to pause reading for a moment to gather himself. His heart is soaring and it’s difficult to breathe.

_You made it so fucking easy with your charm and good heart and the way you treated Millie exactly how you treated Alice. It was everything I’d ever wanted for us. But you’re also everything I can’t have. _

_Neville, you’re a dream come true – really, you are – but I just can’t. It’s too much. It’s my family, and Millie’s magic and you being magical and you teaching at a magic school. I just don’t think I’m brave enough to face the fallout from all of that. I wish I could be what you want – what I hear in every kind word, what I see in every kind act, what I sense when you’re nearby. I want to give you my heart, but you’re from the house of courage and chivalry and it wouldn’t be very chivalrous of me to start something with you knowing that I can’t be courageous enough for you._

_So for now, and for the sake of our girls (who I fear are inseparable at this point), I would like to take a step back for a bit. It’s not that I don’t want us to speak ever again, I just think that for a bit, while I’m trying to sort through my feelings and trying to get over you while I work out what my next step is, I think we should keep our distance. That’s part of why I’m writing this to you and not telling you in person. Floo is super convenient, but the nature of it is naturally atmospheric and it would just be unhelpful for me at this point. I would still like to keep the channel open, but I would ask that you please respect my feelings on this for the time being._

_I desperately wish things could be different. I wish I could be different. You’re one in eight billion, Neville Longbottom, and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me._

_With gratitude (and love)  
– Dudley x_

Neville’s chest aches with the effort of trying to hold back the tirade of disappointed and heartbroken tears he knows are on their way, and in a flash of anger, he considers throwing the stupid fucking letter into the flames. How _dare_ Dudley decide what he’s willing to go through for him? How _dare_ he assume that Neville only wants him if he’s willing to come out to everyone he knows?

But then he remembers how Dudley looked after his phone call with Vernon, as well as the stories Harry told him of the awful things his aunt and uncle had put him through, and his heart (though still impossibly saddened), softens. He’s doing what he thinks is best, even if he doesn’t know how much it’s tearing Neville up inside.

He manages to set the letter down on his desk and stumble through to his room before the tears start in earnest. He was so hopeful about this one and for one small, shining moment in time, his hope was justified. How was he supposed to deal with losing that?

And more importantly, what was he going to tell Alice now?


	4. Chapter 4

The months leading up to Christmas that year are particularly bleak. Neville’s never really had a great time with the holidays – Halloween is normally alright, but it’s always the precursor to the anniversary of his parents’ torture and it always takes him ages after that to get into the Christmas spirit. It doesn’t help that his Christmasses growing up weren’t much to look forward to anyway. There were always the treasured Christmas visits to his mum and dad, but afterwards, it was a sombre lunch with his grandma and him at best, and a huge, loud family dinner at worst.

It’s been simpler the past few years with Alice. It’s so much easier to put his feelings aside and live through her wonder and excitement for all the festivities. However, even she seems less enthusiastic about them this year, and he knows why.

It’s the same reason he hates being in the same room as his fireplace now.

He knows it’s probably stupid to still be this upset about Dudley’s letter, but it was a long time since he’d felt that way about anyone and he’d unknowingly really set his heart on it. He would have almost preferred an outright rejection. Knowing that Dudley had the same feelings makes it all so much worse. He can’t be mad at Dudley though. He was just doing what he felt was right for him and his family. It might hurt like a venomous tentacula bite, but Neville has to at least respect that.

He slogs through Halloween, the knowledge that he helped Hagrid grow the most spectacular giant pumpkins Hogwarts has ever seen doing little to raise his spirits. And even poor Alice and Millie, filled with wonder as they are initially at the sight of the feast, can’t seem to maintain their enthusiasm.

He purposefully organises field trips through the edge of the Forbidden Forest with all of his classes on the anniversary of his parents’ torture, knowing that the brisk November air will help clear his head and the challenge of looking for the plants each class is studying in their lessons, while also trying to keep them from wandering off or causing trouble will be enough to distract them. Though it doesn’t stave off the sadness completely, he’s so exhausted at the end of the day that all he has the energy to do is change clothes and collapse onto his bed, which he takes as a small victory.

The last few weeks until Christmas seem to fly by and before he knows it, he’s having his traditional Christmas Eve dinner with Alice and Hannah. They usually celebrate the night before because Hannah (with a few volunteers) throws a huge Christmas lunch event at the Leaky Cauldron for anyone who doesn’t have a family to celebrate with. Celebrating with them has been good for the soul. For the first time in months, Neville’s heart feels full as he watches Alice tear the wrapping paper off of a new set of books on dragons from Harry and Ginny, a huge box of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products from Hermione and Ron, a beautiful drawing of a phoenix as well as a boxful of muggle sweets from Millie and Dudley (Neville’s heart only pangs slightly) a cuddly niffler doll from Hannah and a set of outdoor clothes and hiking boots from him.

“Thanks, Dad, but I’m not sure when I’m ever going to need these,” she says, holding up the boots in confusion. “We live in England.”

“Maybe you should look inside them,” Neville suggests, and he tries desperately to keep a straight face as Alice pulls out the envelope inside them, knowing what’s coming.

“It’s from Luna and Rolf!” she says, ripping it open in excitement.

“Read it out loud, so Mum can hear what it is too,” says Neville.

“Okay,” she says, smoothing out the letter within. _“Dear Alice, Happy Christmas! It’s been tough being in Africa, so far away from you, but your dad has been keeping us up-to-date with how you’re getting on at Hogwarts. Rolf and I are so glad to hear you’ve made such a good friend, and can’t wait to meet her. Lorcan and Lysander miss you a lot. They drew you a couple of pictures that you can put up on your wall at Hogwarts if you’d like._

_“We weren’t sure what to get you for Christmas this year – you’ve grown up so much, you see – but after speaking to your dad about how interested you are in magical creatures, we thought it might be fun for you to come on a little adventure with us. In the summer we will be spending a few weeks with Rolf’s grandpa and grandma, helping them build new enclosures for the animals they look after – the ones too sick or too weak to make it in the wild. When we told Grandpa Newt how much you love learning about magical creatures, he thought it might be fun for you to come and see some of the animals up close, and maybe even help look after a few of them.”_

Alice is bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

_“If Millie’s dad is okay with it, we would love to have you both stay with us at Grandpa Newt and Grandma Tina’s. Please let us know as soon as you can. Hope the rest of your Christmas is really special. We can’t wait to see you again. All our love (from all the way down in Africa), Luna, Rolf, Lorcan and Lysander._

_“P.S. Watch out for the nargles! I know how much your dad enjoys putting up Christmas plants and there’s nothing they love more.”_

Alice looks up at Hannah and him, close to tears, and they both smile back

“I’m taking it that’s a yes?” asks Hannah and Alice runs to hug the two of them.

“Of course!” she says, letting go of them to read the letter again. Then, after another few reads, she sets it down next to her drawing from Millie and goes to sit next to the fireplace with one of her dragon books, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she goes. The kitten, who, though slightly bigger now, is still tiny, curls up next to her. “You chose a good year to have your first Christmas, Malice. This has been the best one yet.”

It’s enough to make Neville forget about everything else for a while.

* * *

Christmas on the closed ward is quieter than usual because his mum is sleeping. Little Alice sits next to him, nose buried in her dragon book as the two of them wait to see if Big Alice will wake up, but when it becomes clear that she’s too tired for visitors that day, Alice places the wrapped box of Drooble’s on her bedside table and the two of them head off to Grandma Augusta’s.

His grandma hasn’t been able to bring herself to visit since Neville’s dad passed, and though he misses her reassuring presence there, he understands her pain. He doesn’t know what he would do if he ever lost Alice. Though she’s more withdrawn and quiet than usual, her face lights up when she sees the two of them. Alice can barely wait to hand her great-grandmother her gift and when Augusta lifts the ostentatious hat out of the carefully wrapped hatbox, her smile is warm and genuine.

“I chose this one because it’s the same green as your favourite cloak,” says Alice. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful, dear,” she says, kissing her great-granddaughter on the cheek. “Thank you so much.”

As his grandma is tired, they have a smaller lunch than usual, spending just enough time together to catch up about the family and how the school year has been so far, before he and Alice leave for The Burrow, where they have been invited to join in the Weasley family Christmas dinner.

Mrs Weasley hands them both wrapped packages almost as soon as they arrive, and the two of them know before they open them that these are Weasley jumpers, a sure sign that they were as much a part of the family as everyone else. They both thank her profusely before making their way to the living room. The wonderful thing about The Burrow, Neville muses, is that it looks as though it should be too full of people, but somehow there’s always more than enough space for everyone. The house was somehow always full of just enough people.

He watches as Lily, Roxanne, and Hugo talk to Alice for a while but also sees the exact moment where Alice loses interest in what they’re talking about. It’s always like this. Alice tries her best to keep up, but they’re three years older than her and as such, are interested in very different things. Quietly, Alice curls up in one of the comfortable armchairs near the fireplace and disappears into her dragon book again.

“I see we chose well,” says Harry next to him. He smiles as he hands Neville a steaming mug of cider. “Ginny said the last time Charlie was down from Romania, he and Alice were having a long conversation about them.”

“Thank you so much, and please remind me to thank Ginny too. Ali’s barely been able to put it down all day,” says Neville. “You should have seen her face when she saw that there were three of them.”

“Ah, we probably should have waited to give it to her today then,” Harry grins. He turns towards Neville then, brow slowly knitting together in concern. “How are you doing? Dudley told me what happened between you two – about his letter and all that.”

“Oh,” says Neville, who up until that point had been fully prepared to lie and say he was fine. “I’ve been better. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been through, but, y’know, it hasn’t been fun.”

“I imagine not.” There’s a small silence between them before Harry speaks up again. “Listen, I need to remind you that Dudley cares about you. I know you know, but I need you to know that apart from Millie, I’ve never heard him speak as earnestly about anyone as he does about you. Not even Jane, and at the time we were convinced they were going to get married. He loves you and I know it’s frustrating because he’s running away from it at the moment, but it’s true.”

He’s looking Neville right in the eyes now and his face is kind but serious.

“I know you love him too and even though I realise it would be tempting to push back if he ever comes back to you, I’m asking you as a friend to give him a chance. It was great seeing how happy the two of you looked together at King’s Cross and I refuse to let you sabotage that.”

“I bet Ron and the rest of the clan would be happier if things stayed the way they are,” says Neville, bitterly. He knows he’s deflecting, but it’s not entirely unfounded. He’s still pretty mad about how Dudley was treated at the station.

“I’ve spoken to them about that,” Harry replies, voice deadly serious. “I could see how upset you were and even though Dudley seemed to take it in his stride, I realise how excluded he must have felt. I’ve told them all that whatever happened between Dudley and me growing up is in the past and that it’s not their grudge to hold onto and though I still don’t think they like the idea, they’re willing to give him a chance.”

Harry offers Neville a small smile.

“Just think about it, alright? I’m not saying you have to immediately fall into his arms or whatever, but if he wants to talk, at least let him say what he has to say.”

“I’ll think about it,” Neville nods, taking a swig of cider that is much too hot to drink and feeling his throat burn and eyes sting as he forces it down. Harry laughs at him and despite the pain, Neville can’t help but laugh too. For the first time since watching Alice open her gifts the night before, Neville catches some of the Christmas spirit.

* * *

A week later finds Neville on the couch in his office, reading the book on magical African plants that Luna and Rolf had given him for Christmas and waiting for the new year to begin. Hannah always takes Alice to Wales to spend time with her family in the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and as such Neville has spent the week preparing for the term ahead.

His mood has been considerably lighter this week because, since his talk with Harry, he has a small shred of hope again. After all, why would he have told Neville everything he did, if he didn’t think Dudley might change his mind?

He tries to not let his thoughts run away with him, but the small pocket of possibility has opened inside of him again and he feels strangely buoyant.

Neville is reading a section on magical varieties of aloe plants when he feels something hit is leg and is surprised to find that it is a scrunched up sheet of lined muggle paper, singed at the edges from where it had been tossed through the fireplace. He sets the book aside and unfurls the paper, eager to read the first communication he’s had from Dudley in months. The note consists of only three words.

_Can we talk?_

Neville rushes to his desk to grab a quill and ink. He briefly considers responding with ‘I don’t know, _can_ we?’, but remembers Harry’s request and takes a moment to think about his response. He reads through it again once it is written out.

_I think we should._

It takes barely a minute for the response to come back.

_Could you perhaps come over? Millie’s watching a film in her room, but I can’t leave her alone. We could carry on talking this way though too if you’d prefer that._

Neville weighs up his options. On the one hand, he knows that if this conversation doesn’t go the way he hopes it’s going to go, it’s going to be much more difficult to deal with being in the same room as Dudley. On the other hand, it’s been so long since he’s seen him in person that he can’t think of anything he wants more.

A glance at his watch tells him that it’s half-past eleven. Whatever he chooses, he has to choose it soon.

Five minutes later, he throws his cloak over his shoulders and leaves his office.

The walk through the grounds is freezing, and it’s only the promise of a warm fireplace and Dudley’s company at the end of it that makes it worth it. He chides himself for not just flooing, but he’s set a standard and he can’t go back on it now. By the time he’s through the gates of the castle grounds, his lungs are burning from the cold air, which makes disapperating all the more uncomfortable. However, he forgets about it as soon as he’s on Dudley’s doorstep, staring at the wreath on his front door.

Heart hammering in his chest, he takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell.

Barely a few seconds later Dudley opens the door.

“Oh thank god,” he says, looking relieved and inviting Neville in. “Fuck’s sake, why wouldn’t you just come through the fireplace? It’s freezing here – I can’t imagine what Scotland must be like.”

“I suppose I was worried you’d be showering again.” Neville feels every muscle in his body cringe. Why on earth would he say that when he has no way of telling where this conversation is going to go? To his relief, Dudley smiles and gestures for him to take a seat on the couch. When Dudley sits down next to him, Neville’s throat goes dry.

“You, er, wanted to talk?” he says, trying to drum up his Gryffindor courage.

Dudley nods and takes a steadying breath.

“I told my parents at Christmas,” he says, and whatever Neville had been expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Holy shit, Dudley, you told them? How much?”

“Everything,” he says. “Well, technically Mille told them about her magic, but I filled them in on everything else. None of it went over with them particularly well and I’m pretty certain I’ve been disinherited, but in some ways, it’s a relief to have it out in the open.”

“What happened?” asks Neville.

“Alright, so my mum was saying that Jane, you know, Millie’s mum had been in contact wanting to know how Millie’s been doing. It’s completely out of line. What happened between us is a whole long messy story that I’ll eventually tell you, but all you need to know right now is that because of it, she’s not legally allowed to contact us. This is the first time she’s tried since Millie was about three years old.

“Anyway, mum’s been dying for me to get back with her for ages so she merrily tells her that Millie’s at an art school in Scotland. Jane apparently flips out at this, demanding to know why I sent our child so far away when there are plenty of good art schools in the south of England, which, of course, my dad thinks is a great point. So I start making up some bullshit about how she got a scholarship to study there and it’s a really prestigious school so I know she’s getting the best education. But then Millie tells me to stop and proceeds to tell them how she’s a witch and she’s at Hogwarts just like Harry was and tells them how I was just trying to protect her, and then it became immediately apparent that their feelings towards magic haven’t changed.”

“Fuck,” says Neville. “Are the two of you alright?”

“Yeah, it was difficult at the time, but after their little Christmas display, we know we’re better off without them. It was crazy. They completely turned and kept demanding to know why I hadn’t told them sooner, before I brought her into their home again and again, especially since I knew what magic had done to their family, and how they thought they knew me better than that, which then led to me telling them that I was as gay as May and that they could take their bigotry and choke on it. And then we left.”

“Fuck, Dudley,” says Neville, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. “That was… that was really brave of you.”

Dudley, who had been staring into the fireplace, looks back at Neville.

“I don’t regret my decision not to tell them initially. That isn’t how I wanted to tell them, but it was the only way I could take the heat off of Millie at that moment.” He reaches for Neville’s hand and Neville doesn’t resist it, curling his hand around Dudley’s. “No, what I regret is not trusting you enough to be a part of it and not trusting that you would make it easier to deal with rather than harder. These months without you have been miserable, and every time I look at that drawing that Millie did of all of us, I realise more than anything that that’s what I want. With you. With us.”

Neville places a hand gently on Dudley’s cheek and his heart somersaults when he leans into the touch.

“I’m not going to lie – that letter hurt. A lot. But it helped me realise that I’m so much happier with you than I am without you, and as I was recently advised not to push away things that make me happy, I won’t.”

He ever so gently leans closer, searching Dudley’s eyes for any sign he should stop, but Dudley is leaning in too now and Neville takes this as permission to close the last few inches between them.

At first, their lips barely brush, but then Dudley shifts and it’s as if a hunger takes over. His lips part, allowing Neville in and though he’s often daydreamed about this moment, nothing could have prepared him for the scrape of Dudley’s teeth on his bottom lip, the coarseness of Dudley’s stubble beneath his palm or the way Dudley pulls him irresistibly closer. Neville has been longing for this for so long and though he knows it must, he never wants this moment to end.

It’s just then that Millie comes bounding down the stairs.

“Dad, it’s almost midnight! Hurry or we’ll miss the countdown!”

The two of them spring apart, blushing furiously just as Millie enters the room. She eyes them both suspiciously.

“What was that, Millet?” asks Dudley in a somewhat dazed voice.

“It’s almost midnight and you haven’t even opened the champagne or anything!” says Millie. “We’re going to miss it!”

“Shit, you’re right,” he says, jumping up and running for the kitchen.

“Sorry, Prof- I mean, Neville. I didn’t know that you were going to be here,” says Millie.

Neville laughs.

“Don’t worry, Millet, neither did I.”

With barely a minute to spare, the three of them stand in the living room, glasses charged with sparkling grape juice, waiting for the new year to begin. They count down together until there’s a burst of confetti on the screen and Auld Lang Syne begins playing.

“Happy New Year, Millet,” says Dudley, picking her up with ease and kissing her on the cheek.

“Happy New Year, Dad,” she giggles. When Dudley sets her down, she gives Neville a huge hug. “Happy New Year, Neville.”

“Happy New Year,” he replies, before turning to Dudley. “Happy New Year to you too.”

“Yeah, happy New Year,” Dudley replies, cheeks still flushed from the earlier kiss. Neville briefly considers just going for it again, but he’s not sure where they’re at with letting Millie and Alice know what’s happening between them. Did Millie see them kissing earlier?

“Well, aren’t you going to kiss him again, Dad?” Millie eventually asks, answering the question for them. “I mean, what’s the point of inviting your crush over on New Year’s Eve if you’re not even going to kiss him at midnight?”

And though Dudley and Neville both laugh, there’s no arguing with that.

* * *

**4 Years Later**

The closed ward is transformed. Though it’s usually greyish and cold, the room is filled with fresh flowers and gold orbs of light hang just lower than the ceiling, bathing everything in a soft, warm glow. _Alice and Millie have outdone themselves,_ he thinks as he looks around him. From her bed, Big Alice smiles, happily wearing the flower crown that Little Alice had made for her.

When he told Dudley he wanted his mum at the ceremony, he didn’t know how possible this would be, but Padma had managed to pull some strings with the Senior Healers. After assuring them that the only other patient on the ward was a witch who had accidentally taken too much sleeping potion, it was decided that they could have a few hours to do what they needed to.

“How are you feeling?” asks Luna, offering him an encouraging smile. He’s immensely grateful that she agreed to perform the ceremony for them.

“Like I can’t wait for all of this to be over,” he says, pulling at the collar of his shirt a little. He hates wearing ties.

“Relax, Dad, it’s going to be beautiful,” says Alice, smoothing down the front of his dress robes. “You’ve been waiting for this for years, remember? Don’t spoil it for yourself now.”

“Thanks, Ali, for everything,” says Neville, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Eh, probably not,” she shrugs, grinning from ear to ear. Neville glances over the tiny group of guests. His grandma sits in the front row, on the side closest to his dad’s old bed and he offers her a small smile. She beams back at him. Behind her, Harry and Ginny give him an encouraging thumbs-up. Rolf sits next to them, also smiling, though he thinks it might be more aimed at Luna.

A soft tune starts on the harp his grandma has enchanted to begin playing when Dudley arrives and Neville’s heart races in his throat. This is it. They’re about to do this.

The door of the ward swings open and he sees him for the first time that day. Millie, walking arm-in-arm with him, is wearing a pretty gold dress identical to Alice’s, but he can’t tear his eyes from Dudley. He’s wearing a gold tie with a muggle suit that fits him perfectly and the smile on his face looks as overwhelmingly happy as Neville feels. He can’t help but feel like the luckiest man alive.

Luna keeps the ceremony as short as she can. She speaks briefly on love and commitment and, bizarrely, wrackspurts, but it’s not long before they are holding each other’s hands and Luna is wrapping a soft gold cloth around them.

“Dudley, would you please recite the vows you have prepared?” she says, stepping back to allow him to talk. Dudley clears his throat.

“Neville, I had no idea where to even start this, so I just decided to write a list of things I’m grateful for.”

Neville fights hard not to give in to the tears that are already stinging his eyes.

“I’m grateful that you are the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see every night. I’m grateful that you’re so patient with me. I’m grateful that you seem to enjoy doing the dishes and I’m even more grateful that you don’t pretend that it’s hard work when I know you just do it with a wave of your wand.”

There’s a titter of laughter from the guests.

“I’m grateful that you always seem to know the right thing to say, even when it’s not what I want to hear. I’m grateful for the way you make every day an adventure. I’m grateful that you are such a good dad to Alice and I’m grateful that you’re just as good of a dad to Millie. I’m grateful that I can trust her heart with you because I know you love her as much as I do.”

Dudley’s voice breaks slightly and he takes a moment to compose himself again.

“I’m grateful that you saw me in that bookshop all those years ago and decided to help me because of how lost I looked. I was lost – more than you know, but I’m grateful that you found me. More than anything though, more than how grateful I am that you laugh at my awful puns when no one else does, more than how you make me feel like the most important person in the world, even when I don’t like myself much, I’m grateful that you’ve given Millie and me a family, when that was the last thing we’d ever thought we’d have. I love you and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I love you too,” says Neville. Alice hands him a handkerchief and he wipes away the tears that are pooling there.

“Neville, would you please recite the vows you have prepared?”

Neville takes a deep, steadying breath and looks into Dudley’s eyes.

“I never could have anticipated walking up to that confused-looking muggle man in Flourish and Blotts that this is where it would lead, but here we are. I’m not much of a public speaker, and I definitely can’t put anything as eloquently as you just did, but I need you to know that I was also lost before I met you. I didn’t know what I wanted from life anymore, but you took a chance on a strange wizard, let him show you around, and now you’re about to be stuck with him for life. I need you to know that it’s the opposite of being stuck for me. Being with you is the freest I’ve ever felt. Knowing that whatever I set my heart to, I have your support, that I have you in my corner means the world to me. You are my safety net and I don’t even know how to start thanking you for that.

“I promise to love you and cherish you. I promise to fall in love with you again every day we’re together. I promise to love and raise our girls to be strong women, capable of doing anything they set their hearts to. I promise to keep your heart safe. I promise to be your safety net. I promise to be your family. I promise to be yours.”

He has to wipe his eyes again, but then, so does Dudley.

“It’s this bloody onion-scented cologne, I’m telling you,” he says and the guests laugh.

Luna looks at Dudley then.

“Do you, Dudley Dursley, take Neville Longbottom to be your husband?”

“I do,” he says, without a scrap of doubt in his eyes. Neville’s heart skips a beat.

“And do you, Neville Longbottom, take Dudley Dursley to be your husband?”

“I do,” he says, and Dudley beams at him.

“Then I declare you bonded for life. You may kiss.”

Dudley immediately pulls him closer and as they kiss, petals shower from an unknown source above their heads. Neville couldn’t have imagined it being more perfect – he knows this will always be the happiest day of his life.

When they pull apart, Neville is surprised to find his mum is out of bed and shuffling towards them, but her eyes are not on Neville. Her eyes are firmly trained on Dudley. Silently, she presses something into his hand before making her way slowly back to her bed. When he opens his hand, he seems surprised to find that it’s a Drooble’s Best-Blowing Gum wrapper, though after all this time he surely must know what it means.

Dudley was officially family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really wasn't expecting anything when I started posting this little story – it was mostly for myself – but I'm so so so grateful to each of you who took a chance on this strange little rarepair. You're all the absolute best. ♥♥♥


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